How do you know that Moses wrote the Book of Exodus?

Answer 1

Although the Torah is traditionally attributed to Moses, there is no evidence to support this view and there is not a single statement anywhere in the Torah that claims that Moses was actually the author. All the evidence supports it having been written by multiple authors some centuries after the time attributed to Moses.

Various discrepancies, inconsistencies and errors within the Torah show that none of the authors of these books was a participant in any of the events supposedly described. There is even confusion as to the name of Moses' father-in-law, with at least three alternatives used, explicable if there were multiple authors, but not plausible if Moses wrote the Torah.

Answer 2

A:The Book of Exodus is traditionally ascribed to Moses as having written it during the Exodus from Egypt. However, there is no evidence to support this tradition, which biblical scholars no longer accept as plausible. The view of biblical scholars is that Moses did not write, and could not have written, Exodus. Exodus was compiled over a period of centuries before it reached a more or less identifiable form, and was then redacted into substantially the form we know today*. The scholarly consensus is actually that the Exodus from Egypt, as described in the Book of Exodus, never really happened. If the story of the Exodus is demonstrably unhistorical, an implication of this is that Moses is unlikely to have been a real, historical person.

*The Book of Exodus, and the Pentateuch as a whole, is based on input from several sources. Because we do not know the actual names of those sources, we generally call the major contributors: J, E, D and P. Based on the archaic Hebrew and other evidence, J and E appear to be from around 800 to 1000 BCE. D (the Deuteronomist) lived a little before 600 BCE. P (the Priestly source) lived during the Babylonian exile.

Answer 3

This Jewish tradition has been handed down for over 3,300 years by the entire Jewish nation, and accepted by Christians and Muslims as well. Moses is mentioned many times in the Torah and Rabbinic literature. He is also mentioned by ancient non-Jewish writers going back over 2,300 years, including Hecataeus, Strabo, Alexander Polyhistor, Manetho, Apion, Chaeremon, Tacitus, and Porphyry. Non-religious ancient Jewish sources mention him too, such as Artapanus, Eupolemus, Josephus and Philo.

Answer 4

There is testimony that Moses existed (written documents attesting to the fact) but there is no proof (artifacts). The testimony is contained within the Torah or first five books of the Bible.

Answer 5

This Jewish tradition has been handed down for over 3,300 years by the entire Jewish nation, and accepted by Christians and Muslims as well. Moses is mentioned many times in the Torah and Rabbinic literature. He is also mentioned by ancient non-Jewish writers going back over 2,300 years, including Hecataeus, Strabo, Alexander Polyhistor, Manetho, Apion, Chaeremon, Tacitus, and Porphyry. Non-religious ancient Jewish sources mention him too, such as Artapanus, Eupolemus, Josephus and Philo.See also the Related Links.

Link: Archaeology and the Hebrew Bible

Link: The authorship of the Hebrew Bible

Link: More about Moses

Answer 6

Moses wrote the complete Torah scroll (Deuteronomy 31:24) shortly before his death while the Israelites were camped in the Transjordan region east of Jericho.